Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Boosts Holdings in Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its holdings in shares of Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE) by 16.5% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 33,188 shares of the online travel company’s stock after buying an additional 4,705 shares during the quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s holdings in Expedia Group were worth $6,184,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of EXPE. Windacre Partnership LLC lifted its stake in shares of Expedia Group by 49.5% in the 3rd quarter. Windacre Partnership LLC now owns 4,323,700 shares of the online travel company’s stock worth $639,994,000 after acquiring an additional 1,431,500 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Expedia Group by 22.5% in the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,250,710 shares of the online travel company’s stock valued at $481,170,000 after purchasing an additional 596,510 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Expedia Group by 0.6% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,197,927 shares of the online travel company’s stock valued at $472,212,000 after purchasing an additional 20,005 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Expedia Group by 9.4% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 1,689,485 shares of the online travel company’s stock valued at $250,078,000 after acquiring an additional 144,579 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alkeon Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Expedia Group by 46.3% during the 3rd quarter. Alkeon Capital Management LLC now owns 1,576,472 shares of the online travel company’s stock valued at $233,349,000 after acquiring an additional 498,934 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.76% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Expedia Group

In other Expedia Group news, Director Dara Khosrowshahi sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $169.79, for a total transaction of $1,697,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 158,505 shares in the company, valued at $26,912,563.95. This represents a 5.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Robert J. Dzielak sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $205.70, for a total value of $1,028,500.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 74,502 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,325,061.40. The trade was a 6.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 25,000 shares of company stock worth $4,577,900. Company insiders own 6.80% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently commented on EXPE. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Expedia Group from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, February 15th. Argus lifted their price target on shares of Expedia Group from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $200.00 price target on shares of Expedia Group in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Melius Research upgraded shares of Expedia Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, B. Riley reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $235.00 price objective (up from $220.00) on shares of Expedia Group in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Nineteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $193.61.

Expedia Group Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ EXPE opened at $157.11 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $185.40 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $171.29. The company has a market cap of $20.24 billion, a PE ratio of 17.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.82. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87. Expedia Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $107.25 and a twelve month high of $207.73.

Expedia Group (NASDAQ:EXPE) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The online travel company reported $1.84 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.06 by ($0.22). Expedia Group had a net margin of 9.01% and a return on equity of 52.41%. On average, analysts predict that Expedia Group, Inc. will post 12.28 EPS for the current year.

Expedia Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 6th will be paid a $0.40 dividend. This is a boost from Expedia Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.02%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 6th. Expedia Group’s payout ratio is 17.68%.

About Expedia Group

Expedia Group, Inc operates as an online travel company in the United States and internationally. The company operates through B2C, B2B, and trivago segments. Its B2C segment includes Brand Expedia, a full-service online travel brand offers various travel products and services; Hotels.com for lodging accommodations; Vrbo, an online marketplace for the alternative accommodations; Orbitz, Travelocity, Wotif Group, ebookers, CheapTickets, Hotwire.com and CarRentals.com.